The Tennessee State Lady Tigers were in control of the game in the first half, outscoring Little Rock in both the first and second quarters. However, the momentum swung toward Little Rock in the second half as the Trojans took the lead, answered every TSU run, and went on to a 60-54 win.
Tennessee State took an early 3-0 lead on Aaniya Webb’s three-pointer at the 7:50 mark. Jordan Holman’s layup put Little Rock back in front 4-3 with 6:55. The Lady Tigers trailed for the next 4:56 until a pair of Somah Kamara free throws tied the game at 9. Another free throw and then a layup from Kamara in the waning seconds of the period gave the Lady Tigers a 12-9 lead heading into the second period.
The Lady Tigers outscored the Trojans 12-4 over the first 3:53 of the period to take a 24-13 lead on Xai Whitfield’s jumper. Tennessee State built their advantage to as much as 13 when Genesis Harris canned a three-pointer to make the score 28-15 with 4:07 remaining in the half. However the TSU offense ground to a halt, with the Lady Tigers shooting 0/7 from the floor, 0/2 from the charity stripe, and committing a pair of turnovers for the remainder of the half. This allowed Little Rock to essentially cut the deficit in half and trailed only 28-22 at halftime.
For approximately half of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers were able to stave off the Lady Trojans. However, Little Rock would finally take a lead at 35-34 on Holman’s jumper at the 4:03 mark. TSU responded with 4 points to jump back in front 38-35. A free throw and a three-pointer from Holman pushed Little Rock back in front 39-38. Tennessee State took a 40-39 lead on a pair of Brianna Wooldridge free throws, jumpers from Taelor Coxford and Alaina Payne pushed Little Rock out in front 43-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Trojans scored the period’s first six points to take a 49-40 lead. Tennessee State answered with six points of their own to trim the lead to 49-46 with 5:05 remaining in the contest. Tennessee State continued to play from underneath, slicing the lead to as little as 56-54 on Webb’s three-pointer with just 1:06 left. Unfortunately, TSU would get no closer as Little Rock held on for a 60-54 victory.
Xai Whitfield led a pair of Lady Tigers in double figures with 15 points; Somah Kamara added 13 points.
The loss drops Tennessee State to 3-17 and 2-8 in OVC play. TennesseeState will seek to snap its now 4-game losing streak when they host Tennessee Tech on February 2. The Golden Eagles defeated the Lady Tigers 69-63 in their meeting on December 30.
